HEAD ARTHUR ASHE TENNIS RACKET FROM BACK IN THE DAY REVIEW AND PLAY TEST

[@jamesgretsch4894]

I had one. Got it for my birthday in 1982. In those days we hit with that small head without issue but as racquet heads got bigger we got spoiled and to go back to that head size will be impossible. If no one ever switched to bigger head sizes we would no not any better and be fine with an 80 SI or less head.

[@tedneanderthal7373]

The Arthur Ashe Competition was a fiberglass and aluminum composite racquet known for having very little touch / feel for the ball. Its composition was based on the sandwich design of AMF skis of the time. There had been other autograph racquets before it, e.g., the Wilson Jack Kramer. The design was modern in that it had an open throat for increased stability over mono shaft racquets and used materials other than wood. It had a standard size head (about 68 sq. inches) - the same as wood racquets of the time. Arthur Ashe won Wimbledon in 1975 with it.

[@KrylovaStat]

Ааахуеть!! Откуда ты все это знаешь? Сам видел наверное???🤣🍺🤣

[@FlowJunkie65]

Right on, and there were also the Wilson Stan Smith Autograph and Chris Evert Autograph, and it looks like Mr. Tennis Spin has the Arthur Ashe Comp 2 (the one Arthur won Wimbledon with, made with Boron, and was designed to be stiffer than the Comp 1), but there were also the Comp 3 (less stiff than the Comp 2) that preceded the Edge model (different from the Comps 1, 2, and 3). BTW, the Comps' head size is reportedly 69 sq. in. I own like 5 Comp 1s, 2 Comp 2s, 2 Comp 3s, and 1 Edge; as well as 2 "Red Heads" (Head Professional) and 1 Head Standard and maybe 1 Head Master.

[@delkeeney2471]

Harry, I read the comments before adding mine. I played the Head Competition (black core) from my sophomore through senior years in High School (graduated in '73). I only had one, since it was quite expensive. I enjoyed it, though I had to grow into the weight of it. Eventually, the lacquer coating on it peeled, which is likely what happened to the specimen you were using. I was thinking that the brown core was the Boron version. There was a problem with the frames fatiguing and warping over time, which eventually happened to mine. Ultimately, it looked more like a snow shoe than a racquet! A friend gave me one a few years ago that I shared with one of my sons who enjoys the vintage frames. I agree that it was good for the one handed back hand slice! It is that racquet that I learned that stroke on!

[@robertjacobson941]

I never know what to think of these looks at old racquets. these guys are in the tennis business yet they seem so unaware of anything older than y2k. Then I remember that Ike was still president when I picked up a racquet the first time and racquets like the Head Ashe and Vilas, the t2000, the POG, the Wilson PS85 etc were all cutting edge and desirable at one time. It's strange to hear them discussed as though they are pre-columbian artifacts.

[@movdqa]

I had one in the 1980s and it was a nice racquet. Aerodynamics were horrible and the aluminum edges made a whistling sound through the air. I left it in the back shelf of my car one day in the sun and the sandwich section melted. I played a bit with the Comp II and it was a bit stiffer. It had the brown sandwich instead of the black. The Comp II had boron in it too. I think that the Comp was short for Competition, not composite.

[@classicpicksof80ssticks]

Used the Arthur Ashe Competition Edge (more like tried to use it) back in the 80s before I switched to the Graphite Edge. As a junior player it was pricier than the Graphite Edge at the time and I remember liking it but it kept cracking. After returning a few I had enough and switched to the HGE. I purchased one quite recently for old times sake in perfect condition. Thanks for the video review of the predecessors to it- it got me itching to go take it out for a spin.

[@brettkirkpatrick464]

Harry, thanks for reviewing an Arthur Ashe Competition. I have a Comp I and a Comp II. I agree with Coach Rob and Coach Jared that this racquet has amazing feel on the one handed backhand slice, more so than any other racquet that I have played with. I struggle on the forehand side with this racquet because of its flexibility and small head size. The racquet is an important piece of tennis history that I would encourage others to try at least once, just to reflect on how the game has progressed. Harry, you are right about the sound this racquet makes, the strings and frame sound about the same. Luckily the frame is flat and the ball usually goes about where you want it to go regardless. Great work!

[@ajbardo2523]

Harry kept calling it the Ashe composition instead of COMPETITION

[@jasonbannan4024]

I played on my HS tennis team in 1973-74 using an AMF HEAD Comp I racquet. I loved it. Graphite-Fiberglass-Epoxy composition between Aluminum. 69"sq Head size. My doubles partner played the Wilson T-2000. Everyone else was still using wood in our team photo of 1974.

[@ddreamax]

The fiberglass is a hard foam known as Sybatool or Cybatool. Comes in different densities and colors. Sandwiched between two thin aluminium sheets. Grommetless for that pure contact feel like a wood racket. A flat hitters dream.

[@nathanmiller6051]

Excellent! Thanks guys!

[@Roller71]

Proud to say at 51 my Father gave this racquet in Australia a fair game. He played every surface bar clay. I kept the Arthur Ash because it was so ridiculous. The vibration was teeth shattering when ball to frame was hit. It still sits proudly with a Donnay, Adidas Lendl, Max 200G, Rosignol and more modern Babs, Wilson's. I keep them because I can, lucky I guess. I never found them second hand, we where an Australian Tennis family. Spoilt for weather and freedom.

[@rikumoi3136]

Jared's comments were 100% accurate. I recall many frames got broken with normal overheads at club level. So, when your buddy attacked the net, a lob was the best defence. :)

[@othgmark1]

Snow ski style composite racquets were also built by Yamaha and Rossignol. Head built Arthur Ashe Comp racquets in 1, 2, and 3 models as well as the lighter weight LC model. A midsize was also built.

[@susand5821]

I played with the Comp I (black center) in college and loved it. It was much more stable on off-center hits than my older Chris Evert Autograph. But I mostly remember getting balls stuck in the throat. Pulled it out of the closet a couple years ago. Heaviest club I ever swung! No weight in the handle, horrible balance. Still got balls stuck in the throat when I got jammed at the net.

[@FlowJunkie65]

The Head Arthur Ashe Comp's head size is 69 in² and weighs 13.2 oz. (strung). You've got the Comp 2 with Boron (the model that Ashe won Wimbledon with) that has added stiffness over the Comp 1.

[@AkilesTennis]

This was super cool

[@leoningold1412]

I own one - my grand father owned it and was passed onto me. He wrote 1980 on his… it’s a great racquet. The small head is no issue. Pretty much ahead of its time (pun intended) Mine has a black line and says Arthur Ashe Competition on the lowest part of the head.

[@MrPBODY1966]

The brown composite means it is the Comp 2 which stiffer than the comp 1 0r 3 which had black composite.

[@jamesj7328]

Had one of those rackets…I thought there was some lettering on the aluminum plates. Pretty solid racket, especially coming fom wood rackets. I always wondered what that racket was made of.

[@Enjoywatchingyoutube8227]

i remember hitting with that once and it felt like hitting with a board

[@pdxtomct]

That appears to be the Boron version of the AA Comp. The brown filler gives it away. The original version (black filler) was extremely popular and both were quite expensive. If you were playing tennis during that era, you wanted that racquet or a Wilson T-2000...until you hit with one or both of them and realized they weren't all that great. I hit with the Head Comp I a couple of times. It felt to me like a wood racquet with an aluminum exterior. It was heavy and had a lot of flex, which I didn't like. I suppose the Boron version was a little stiffer, but I never hit with that one that I recall. It's amazing that Ashe played so well with it. He beat Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final with the Comp.

[@brenthargreaves7085]

I could borrow a athur ashe in the 80s it was so cool i thought it was fantastic. (13 years old) a dunlop maxply was "the" racket around where I lived!Tennis has certainly changed the old metal yonnex were impossible to play with.The wilson T's were so arm destructive ouch! My coach in the 90s talked about how everyone said Anthony Wilding was the best New Zealand tennis player but he said he hit his backhand with a backwards western grip and sliced it with lots of backspin the racket was behind his wrist when he hit it. Anthony Wilding won wimbledon 4 times in a row 6 singles grandslams, 11 in total doubles mixed doubles etc. plus the davis cup for Australasia (he died in the first world war in france).My coach said it was ridiculous (his son played in 1 Wimbledon singles final and got smashed by Johnny Mac) because the modern player was so much better? The old gear is what I learnt on the new stuff is so much better.( i play with a michael stich fischer) but i bought an arthur ashe comp a couple.of weeks ago.I wonder how soft a 1907 racket with handmade balls was?

[@ozmagoo7724]

Was your coach's son Chris Lewis? I can vaguely remember him being on the circuit in the late 70s or early 80s.

[@johnlaw6735]

That was the first racket that felt like i was hitting with a plank🤗

[@johnmuir102]

Harry: “This was the first racquet to have a player’s name on it.” What about the Wilson Jack Kramer Autograph?

[@sebastiandomagala9233]

I remember my father handing one of these to me when I was 9. It had a white filler, probably a slightly lighter version. That was in 1983, might have been left over in a shop as a bargain or something. That was by far the most terrible racquet I have ever held in my hand. No sweet spot at all, arm breaking jarring at the slightest mishit - and in the winter season I broke it with a backhand volley - at the age of 9! It was like playing with the Tennis sabre as a main racquet. Except the sabre would perform way better.

[@KrylovaStat]

Уже обриилиии!!!🤣🥎🤣

[@ajbardo2523]

He kept calling it the Ashe composition instead of competition

[@jamesgretsch4894]

I bet Arthur Ashe drove a DeLorean.

[@Desslok20]

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